Wheelbarrow



March 29 1927.

l. R. SMITH WHEELBARROW Filed May 24, 1925 2 sheets-sheet 1 M r h 1927.1,622,354

a c 29 l. R. SMITH WHEELBARROW Filed May 24, .1925 Sheets-sheet 2Patented Mar. 29, 1.927.

UNITED STATES IRVING R. SMITH, OF WAUXVATOSA, WSCONSIN.

WHEELBRROW.

This invention relates to wheelbarrows, and more particularly towheelbarr-ows made of sheet metal.

This invention has for its particular ob ject the construction of awh-eelbarrow made almost completely of sheet metal, the construction ofwhich offers the possibility of minimizing the cost of productionwithout sacrificing to any extent the strength and durability of thedevice.

The invention, therefore, consists essentially in the combination,construction and arrangement of parts, all of which will be made moreapparent hereinafter, as the description proceeds, especially whenVconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein;

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the wheelbarrow construction inaccordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the wheelbarrow;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional View, taken substantially on the planeindicated by the line 3 3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View, taken on the plane indicated by the line1f-11 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional View taken on the plane indicated by the line 5 5in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a sectional View, taken on the plane indicated by the line 6 6of Fig. 2; and,

Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive are detail sectional views, showing modifiedforms of arms and means for connecting the handles thereto.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 to 6inclusive,the preferred embodiment of the invention Till be firstdescribed. The reference character 10 indicates the hopper `or body ofthe wheelbarrow, which is formed of sheet metal and is supported upon apair of longitudinally extending arms 1l. These arms are formed of sheetmetal, bent to form hollow members, substantially rectangular in crosssection. The arms 11 are disposed so that the joint 12 thereof isarranged along the bottom or lower side of each of the arms 11.

The rear ends of the arms 11 are rounded as at 13, and are adapted toreceive the wooden handles 14, which project therein a short distance.The edges 12 of th-e portion of each arm 11 which is rounded, are spaceda greater distance apart than the joint 12, .so that the roundedportions 13 of the arms 12, may be securely clamped. around 1923. SerialN0. 641,105.

the handles 14. The clamps for accomplishing this consists of a pair ofmembers 15 and a bolt 16, which connects the clamp members 15 andextends through the arm and handle to securely clamp fand unite thesemembers.

interposed between the hopper 10 and arms 11 are channel bars 17, whichare arranged on their edge, or in other words, in a vertical plane withthe flanges thereof engaging the hopper and arms respectively. Asillustrated, if it is desired to incline the hopper, these angle barsmay be tapered longitudinally.

Adjacent the forward portion of the hopper, bolts 18 are provided whichextend downwardly through the bottom of the hopperA 10, through thechannel bars 17, through the arms 11, and also through the adjacent endof supporting legs 19, thus securely uniting these parts. The channelbars 17 are formed with enlargements 17', providing sufficient materialto permit 'of a passageway for the securing bolt 18.

The supporting legs 19 are formed of channel bar members, andarepreferably shaped, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2. The ends 2O of eachleg 19 lay in a substantially parallel plane, and engage the under sideof the associated arm 11, the arm engaging in the channel side of theleg. In addition to the bolt 18 each leg is provided with an additionalbolt 21, while one or more additional bolts 22 may be provided whichextends through the hopper 10, channel bars 17 and arm 11.

Each of the legs 19 is reinforced by a metal reinforcing plate 23, thelegs being preferably connected together by a cross strip 24 and adiagonally extending brace 25.

The front ends of the arms 11 are con nected by a curved channel bar 26,secured to the arms 11 by means of bolts 27.

The front portion of the hopper is additionally braced by means of arms28, which are substantially V-shaped in cross-section, these arms beingconnected by bolts 29 to the hopper, and by bolts 30 to the arms 11.

Secured to the forward ends of the arms 11 are journals 31, whichprovide a. mounting for the axle 32 lof the wheelbarrow wheel 33.

In Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive, there are illustrated several modificationsof the arms 11, and the means for attaching the wooden handles ln eachinstance 'the handle is indicated by the refe-rence chai acter lll. Ineach of these figures there is provided a bolt 16 which is adapt/ed toclamp the clamping members together. In Fig. 7 the bolt 16 merely passesthrough the arm l17 and the handle 14. In the other figures, however,clamping members 15 are provided, the cross-sectional shape of which,however, is varied according to the cr,oss-sectional shape of the armsll and wooden handle 14. From these modified forms of construction itwill be immediately apparent that the connection between the ends of thearms 11 or l1', and the handles 14 or 14', may be accomplished'invarious ways, the connection in each instance, however, being such thatif desired, the wooden handles may be removed and replaced when occasiondemands.

he construction of the wheelbarrow herein described, insures rigidityand durability combined with cheapness in manufacture and a minimumweight in the finished arti* cle. The longitudinally extending arms ll,which are made of sheet metal, may, because of their substantiallyTrectangular shape in cross-section, be made extremely strong and durablefor their weight, and when braced by the supporting legs and connectionswith the hopper body, produce a structure which is durable in everyrespect. Furthermore, the assembling of the whe-elbarrow is facilitatedbecause of the arrangement of the connecting bolts.

While the invention has been described in some detail herein, it is `notintended that the same should be unnecessarily limited,but reservationis made to make such changes in the form thereof as may come within thepurview of the accompanying claims.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

l. A metal wheelbarrow comprising ahopper, a pair of longitudinallyextending arms formed of sheet metal bent to the desired shape, achannel iron connecting said arms at their forward ends, bracesconnecting said arms to said hopper, channel bars disposed between saidhopper and arms, channel shaped legs secured to said arms, handles inthe rearward ends of said arms and means for securing said handles inplace.

2. A metal wheelbarrow comprising a hop- 3. A metal wheelharrowcomprising ahopper, a pair of longitudinally extending arms formed ofsheet metal bent to the desired shape, a channel iron connecting saidarms at their forward ends, channel bars arranged on edge and disposedbetween said hopper and arms, channel shaped legs secured to said arms,wooden handles extending into the rearward ends of said arms andclamping means engaging said arms and handles for securing said partstogether.

4C. A sheet metal wheelbarrow comprising a hopper, a pair of hollowsheet metal longitudinally extending arms, channel bars arranged on edgeand disposed between said hopper and arms, legs formed of channel barsbolted to said arms with their channel faces engaging said arms withtheir forward ends under and adjacent the front of said hopper, bracesVshaped in cross-section connecting said hopper to said arms at thefront thereof and handles fitted into said hollow arms at their rearwardends.

5. A sheet metal wheelbarrow comprising a hopper, a pair oflongitudinally extending hollow arms substantially rectangular incross-section, a curved channel bar connecting said arms at theirforward ends, Vertically arranged channel bars positioned between saidhopper and arms, reinforced and braced legs secured to said arms, saidlegs being formed of channel bars engaging said arms with theirchannels, securing bolts passing through said hopper.l channel bars,arms and legs, handles fitted into the rearward ends of said arms andclamping means 'for securing said handles in place. Y

In testimony whereof, I a'liix my signature.

ravine n. sMrri-i.

